Yeonnam-dong restaurant, sweet potato fries and lemon pasta: Hey Joji

I finished work at 3pm that day and went out with my husband for a Yeonnam-dong restaurant date, our first in a while!

There are so many good-vibe spots tucked into the alleys of Yeonnam-dong, but Hey Joji exceeded my expectations on both food and atmosphere.

The garlic squid oil pasta with a splash of lemon, the smooth duck steak cream risotto, and the sweet-and-salty sweet potato fries were all winners — not a single miss among everything we ordered!

If you're looking to set a nice mood in Yeonnam-dong with a special pasta and other delicious dishes, I'd say go for it without hesitation :)

Where is Hey Joji, and what is it like on a weekday afternoon?

Hey Joji sits deep in an alley off Dongyo-ro in Yeonnam-dong, so even the walk there had that charming alley-neighborhood feel, which made the whole trip more fun :)

From the entrance, the place had that vintage-yet-stylish American comfort food restaurant vibe.

Maybe because we came on a weekday afternoon, the inside was quiet and warm, perfect for a date. The lighting was pretty and every little prop seemed carefully chosen — the moment I stepped in, I felt good.

Is there parking at Hey Joji in Yeonnam-dong?

If you're driving, note that like much of Yeonnam-dong, there's no dedicated parking lot, so you'll need to use a nearby paid parking lot. We parked comfortably nearby and walked over, and honestly wandering through the alley on the way was fun enough that the parking wasn't a real inconvenience :)

Garlic squid oil pasta with fresh lemon at Hey Joji

Looking over the menu after we sat down, the first thing that caught my eye was the garlic squid oil pasta. I love oil pasta in general, so I ordered it without hesitation.

The moment it arrived, the savory garlic aroma and the generous portion of squid caught my eye. A slice of fresh lemon came on the side of the plate, so I squeezed some juice over the pasta before digging in!

After tapping on the lemon and taking a bite of the oil pasta, the freshness spread through my whole mouth.

The lemon's brightness cut right through the oiliness that oil pasta can sometimes have, and it worked beautifully with the chewy squid and the garlic's flavor. The noodles were cooked just right too, so I enjoyed it down to the very last bite :)

Duck steak cream risotto: crisp outside, tender inside

After the pasta came the duck steak cream risotto!

Cream risotto usually comes with beef or chicken, so a risotto topped with duck steak felt like a genuinely fresh combination.

The cream sauce itself was very thick and savory — not just heavy cream, but deep in flavor, so it didn't get tiring and I kept going back for more.

The duck steak on top was crispy outside and juicy inside, releasing savory juices with every bite. No gamey smell at all, and it was tender to chew! Piled on a spoonful of the cream risotto, it practically melted in my mouth.

My husband took a bite too and said it was one of the smoothest, most delicious cream risottos he'd had recently.

Sweet potato fries, the side to order at Hey Joji

Before visiting, I'd looked up other people's reviews, and everyone strongly recommended the sweet potato fries as a must, not an option. Curious what made everyone praise it so unanimously, we ordered it as our side!

Honestly, regular potato fries are common, but sweet potato fries aren't something you come across often — and the moment I took a bite, I understood exactly why everyone insisted on it. Crispy outside, moist inside, with the sweet potato's natural sweetness spreading through my mouth, combined with a sweet sauce and salty seasoning for the truest form of sweet-and-salty.

It was great to pick at throughout the meal, and it paired really well with the mains too. It felt like a specialty you can only get at Hey Joji, so I highly recommend ordering it as a side if you visit!

Two mains and a side for two: is it enough food?

How can a place have such generous portions and such delicious food all at once? The two of us ordered two mains plus a side and still ended up full.

Even though we were full, it was so good we couldn't put our spoons down and cleaned every plate!

It had been a while since my husband and I had a weekday afternoon together like this, and with the warm interior mood and the care put into every single dish, it was a truly satisfying Yeonnam-dong restaurant.

If you're looking for a successful Yeonnam-dong date restaurant, or want to try something different and delicious, I strongly recommend visiting Hey Joji :)

Hey Joji, carrying that distinct coziness of a Yeonnam-dong alley